Volcano Bay in December

[slpeters]

So we are planning a trip for this December and are trying to figure out the days (somewhere between 5 and 8). It's our first time at Universal and we will be spending a day at SeaWorld and attending the Christmas Party at WDW.

The thing that sort of hangs me up in figuring out our timeline is VB. Is it even reasonable to plan on a day there in December? Would it even be enjoyable? We're not big water park people but will try anything once.

The thing is that I don't imagine we'll go to VB if it's cold. So do we buy 3 park tickets or 2 park tickets? It looks like the 3 park tickets for 5 days are about 40 dollars more than the 2 park tickets--negligible if, say, it turns out we just don't like VB, but irritating if it turns out we just don't go. Another wrinkle: if we do the 3 park, the 14 day pass is only about $20 more. Decisions, decisions.

Any suggestions or advice?

 

[hhoope01]

A lot of it depends on your tolerance for cold. While Volcano Bay was closed yesterday (due to temps), in the afternoon, when the sun was out, it was fairly warm (low 70s I think). I did see some folks heading out to the lazy river at Cabana Bay and the main pool at Portofino Bay. But I will say, there was no way I was getting in there. I'm sure they were warm enough while "in" the water, but it had to be cold when getting out. But people did it and they looked like they were enjoying themselves.

I would think Volcano Bay would tend to be the same, though if you are waiting in lines and walking between rides all wet, I would think it would be fairly cold. And even if the temp is supposed to get up to the 80s on a particular day for you, the nights are probably in the 50s. So it will be cold until later in the day. So if it were me, I would save the money on Volcano Bay and spend it elsewhere.

 

[jaceraden]

We went to VB in December and loved it. It can be a little rough if it's a windy day but if there's no wind and it's reasonably warm, it's a fun day and not very busy at all.

 

[Wohjen]

We went to UO for the 1st time this past October for 6 days. The one day I set aside for VB, it was overcast and sprinkling. We were miserable!! It very well could just be my tolerance for cold. We live near Galveston Tx and our climate is similar to Fl. Low 80’s for us is too cold to be walking around wet especially if there’s a breeze.. We will be going back to UO in June and I’ve asked my kids if they wanted to have a VB day again when it’s warmer and it was a no But our situation may differ from others. We have a pool, the beach down the road, have a vaca on the Frio river twice a year, and have a few water parks near us. So, we would rather spend our days in the parks. I can imagine if I lived in a cooler climate with limited access to water sports, a water park would be awesome.
We traded in our park tickets for 2 park season passes. We LOVED Universal!!! I had been putting off going as I thought nothing could compare to my love of Disney (we had just gone to Disney a few months before our UO trip) Now that we have the UO passes, I am constantly trying to figure out a way to get back sooner than our booked June trip!
If I had to do it over again, I wish we didn’t have the 3 park tickets last time. Because we did, I felt like we HAD to go to VB to get the most value out of our tickets. I feel like we could have given it a fair review if it was during the dog days of summer.
I would love to be there in December!!! I am considering upgrading our season passes this year to preferred so we can go in Dec without blocked out dates. Sounds like your trip will be a lot of fun!!!